Grayling: Govt must accept cost over prison voting

Justice Minister Chris Grayling has urged the government to "accept the political cost" as it considers the next steps on prisoner voting.

He told the House of Commons:

"The government is under an international law obligation to implement the court judgement... it remains the case that Parliament is sovereign and the human rights act explicitly recognises that fact."

He added: "The constraints upon its exercise by Parliament are ultimately political not legal. But the principle of legality means parliament must squarely confront what it is doing and accept the political cost."